| صفحات الموضوع: < [1 2] | Poll: At what age did you start to learn your first foreign language? ناشر الموضوع: ProZ.com Staff
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| Around age 3 | Apr 24, 2012 |
English is the second language of choice in Quebec and the only one taught in schools (there are very few exceptions) unfortunately. We have laws that govern the teaching of English and ESL usually starts in grade 3. There are discussions to start earlier, in grade 1 of primary school, but this always brings on a political debate.
Some people have the right to study in English school, many do not. This is simply a language protection policy. Because my father had gone to English sch... See more English is the second language of choice in Quebec and the only one taught in schools (there are very few exceptions) unfortunately. We have laws that govern the teaching of English and ESL usually starts in grade 3. There are discussions to start earlier, in grade 1 of primary school, but this always brings on a political debate.
Some people have the right to study in English school, many do not. This is simply a language protection policy. Because my father had gone to English school, I also had the option between French and English. It is along story, but basically, since he was not considered a practicing Catholic, his family was considered Protestant and that meant he was sent to English school even though he is a Francophone. Language then was also tied to religion.
I did my pre-school years in English and soon became bilingual. I went to primary and secondary school in French, college (or cégep as we call it) and university in English, then university again in French. So really, all my life has been spent about equally in two cultures that are constantly in contact and that have to give and take as they evolve. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Russian first | Apr 24, 2012 |
Russian is my mother tongue, but now I barely speak it. I have to relearn it... When I was 6, I switched to French for the elementary school in Belgium and it has become the language in which I am most fluent.
Later on, when we moved to Canada, I started to learn English in 4th grade. It didn't make any sense until I was in my 3rd year of high school.
Then, before going to university, I learned German. I don't use it often, but I can hold a conversation.
| | | | Yaotl Altan 
المكسيك
Local time: 16:14
عضو (2006)
أنجليزي إلى إسباني
+ ...
When I was a child, at the primary school where I attended 2 English hours daily.
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I answered 8-15 because I started learning French when I was about 13 years old. I gave that answer because as a child I learned to speak Spanish and English simultaneously. I grew up in a bilingual family, so I do not consider either English or Spanish a "foreign" language.
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| Around 3/4 years old | Apr 24, 2012 |
I started French in nursery school.
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In my family, Italian, Polish and Breton were spoken on top of French
I started meddling with Italian at around 8 with my cousins - my first Italian words were all the swear words!!! (I understood some when watching the Godfather series!)
I heard Breton, Polish and Italian before but did not bother to start learning them
It's so nice to see younger people learning so early now the sooner t... See more In my family, Italian, Polish and Breton were spoken on top of French
I started meddling with Italian at around 8 with my cousins - my first Italian words were all the swear words!!! (I understood some when watching the Godfather series!)
I heard Breton, Polish and Italian before but did not bother to start learning them
It's so nice to see younger people learning so early now the sooner the better ▲ Collapse
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When my father left me at the door of the nearest school in Paris, where we had just moved, and told me "I'll pick you up at he end of the day". That would be whay you call "inmersion".
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
البرتغال
Local time: 23:14
Afrikaans, in my second year of school in South Africa. It was compulsory, given the State's language policy at the time (1970) that everyone should be "bilingual", i.e. in English and Afrikaans. Our family moved to neighbouring Zimbabwe about a year and a half later (English official language only), and I learned the same beginner's material again at age 12. In my first year at high school (age 13), Afrikaans was once again a compulsory subject on the syllabus (as was Latin and French) for all... See more Afrikaans, in my second year of school in South Africa. It was compulsory, given the State's language policy at the time (1970) that everyone should be "bilingual", i.e. in English and Afrikaans. Our family moved to neighbouring Zimbabwe about a year and a half later (English official language only), and I learned the same beginner's material again at age 12. In my first year at high school (age 13), Afrikaans was once again a compulsory subject on the syllabus (as was Latin and French) for all pupils in the first year of high school, so I had to revisit the same "the cat sat on the mat" material for a third time! Needless to say, I always read ahead in the text book. After that year, I dropped Afrikaans in favour of French and Latin to "O" Level. I learnt German as an extra subject from age 15 (when I knew I wanted to be a translator). Afrikaans returned to my life when I did my Bachelor degree in translation at the only South African university at the time to offer such a course: all our translation "practical work" was Afrikaans>English and English>Afrikaans, and an important component of the course. So, a sharp learning curve. Needless to say, I never really mastered the English>Afrikaans direction. I haven't translated any Afrikaans to English since 1989, mainly because there are so very many more people so much more proficient at it than I, and to do so would be doing the language a disservice! ▲ Collapse
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